Revelation 4: We MUST be Stunned Before Him

Revelation 4 is one that we MUST dig DEEP into. Look at what happens in the first three verses:

Verse 1 – John is shown an open door

Verse 2 – Jesus Himself invites John to “come up” into Heavenly realms, to see “what’s about to take place”

Verse 3 – John sees the STUNNING Throne Room of God.

These three verses alone speak VOLUMES!

1: There is an OPEN DOOR to us to come up into the Throne Room! Notice that it wasn’t just a door that was being opened for John, it was simply a door that was open. What an invitation! God desires that we “come up” into His Presece where we can experience the glory of Heaven! He’s calling us up to see Him, where He is, so that we can view things/events from HIS perspective!

2: Jesus is the One INVITING us into this place — to not stand afar off from Him and what He is doing! Not only does He not want us to be ingnorant of Him and what He’s orchestrating; He desires holy partnership with us, His Bride, in all that He is doing. What a privilege and responsibility! What an honor that He would choose us to share in His glory!

3: Notice what happens here, it’s SO significant. In verse 2, Jesus tells John that He wants to show him what is about to take place, i.e. the events of the end times. But, BEFORE He can tell John about the opening of the end-time scroll, trumpet judgments, etc He wants John to SEE THE BEAUTY OF THE THRONE ROOM.

Do you see what’s going on? Before we find out about facts and events of the End (which can be a bit startling), it is NECESSARY that we be STUNNED and fascinated with the Beauty of the One who is masterminding the whole process in His infinite wisdom. The only way we can stay steady and rightly understand the events of Revelation is by seeing Him in His beauty and standing in the place of WORSHIP. If we do not approach our study of Revelation without staying in the place of worship and beholding the glory of God on His Throne, we miss the whole message.

The message of Revelation is THERE IS ONE WHO IS BEAUTIFUL and He is the One on the Throne. The events of Revelation are HIS works, from the place of His beauty, to bring about His beauty in its fullness and without hindrance on the Earth.

The rest of the chapter details the glories of the Throne room and He who sits on the Throne. Let me assure you that every detail has meaning, this is God, not one description is a wasted word. Here are some questions to ponder and dialogue with the Holy Spirit about as you are studying —

-Why does the “rainbow” around the Throne look like an emerald? What could this represent?

-What’s with the four living creatures around the Throne? Clearly, their full-time occupation, and their very reason for existence is this one thing: to gaze on the greatness of God (this is why they have so many eyes — so much to see!), and to declare the glories of what they see. There’s really only one word they can find to sum it up – HOLY. And thus they NEVER STOP CRYING OUT- “HOLY”! Can you imagine?? Billions and billions of years, every day, every night, seejing Him, being stunned and crying out, “HOLY!”

Let me suggest this devotional exercize: Meditate on this Throne room scene as John has tried to capture it in words. Try to paint the picture in your “mind’s eye” (perhaps even try to sketch it out on paper), and then as you gaze upon it in your spirit, worship the One who sits on the Throne. Take the word, “holy” and unpack it in prayer, something like this:

“Lord, You are holy. You are totally other than. You are so different from everything that I know. Your beauty is beyond comprehension. You are completely unblemished in your purity. You are perfect in every way. You are completely righteous and blameless in all of Your ways. All Your ways are right and true. There is no wisdom above You . . . “

Comments are always welcome!

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About Jessie

Lover of God. Husband. Dad. Director of the Furnace at Michigan State University.

good question! unfortunately I haven’t found an answer that truly satisfies me on this one. But, i’ll give you what I know.. Obviously the Holy Spirit is One. The number 7 in Scripture generally refers to God, and is used as the number of perfection. The seven could also refer to different aspects of His work, or different parts of the Earth where He is sent (these don’t seem to fit as well in my mind).

Okay i will def. pray about it more! i know that 7 is the number of completion/perfection, it’s just hard to understand WHY. Maybe as humans we CAN’T understand the significance of it until we see it for ourselves. but anyway thanks for telling me what you know!